How to Cope When Your Homeschooler Balks at Schoolwork?5 min read

Introduction

What would you be doing if your child refuses to complete his homework? It’s aggravating! Learn how to handle your home schooler’s aversion to schoolwork.

What should you do if your home-schooled child refuses to complete his schoolwork? The circumstance is aggravating, but how to deal with it is contingent on why it is occurring. Most of the time, your home schooler’s resistance to education isn’t due to outright defiance.

The Coping Method

Determine the source of the resistance first. If you’re dealing with a discipline problem rather than, say, a preparation issue, the coping approach you use will be different.

Consider factors such as

• The age of the child
• Possible physical or medical issues (ADHD, vision or hearing problems, Asperger’s)
• Potential learning challenges (dyslexia, dysgraphia, dyscalculia)
• Significant changes in the child’s life (divorce, a death in the family, the birth of a sibling, a move)
• How well does your existing curriculum fit his learning style or your teaching style?

You can start looking for answers once you figure out why your homeschooler doesn’t want to finish his homework.

Young Learners

The fact that society demands that children begin school at age of five does not indicate that this is the best moment for all children. It’s possible that your youngster isn’t ready for formal education. One of the numerous advantages of homeschooling is the ability to tailor each child’s education to his own needs. For some children, this may imply delaying formal education.

You may want to put off formal learning if your youngster is weeping or acting angry, frustrated, or bored. Instead, spend time active play, hands-on learning, and reading fascinating stories to learn about the world.

Subject Struggles

In certain areas, your child may be ready for formal schooling, but not in others. Many times, you’ll find that the majority of the courses are useless for your children (call it a waste of time). Those teachings are unlikely to stick with you.

It’s fine to put spellings or other lessons on the contrary for a while, even if it makes you nervous. Trust us when we say that things will gradually improve for the better when you return. Plus, because you didn’t choose the subject as your hill to die on, they’ll still have a positive attitude toward spelling.

If your youngster is having trouble remembering concepts or is frustrated, you may need to take a break from the material. Allow him or her time to attain a developmental readiness level.

Focus Issues

When children are unable to concentrate, they typically refuse to do schoolwork. It’s possible that your child’s work is being dragged out due to a lack of attention. Trying a different curriculum, a different strategy or an incentive program are some options. For disorders like ADD and ADHD, you may also want to investigate diet recommendations or prescriptions.

Overwhelmed Learners

Your child may be overwhelmed if he is dragging his feet on academics. Struggling with the material, a lack of time management skills or an overburdened schedule are all possible explanations (social or academic). Some children cope with their problems by shutting down.

In this case, you may need to

• Change curriculum
• You may look for some other tutor or other teaching alternatives
• Try teaching your kids by adopting different ways to learn new concepts (such as lattice multiplication)
• Help your little one to learn better time management skills
• Teach your kid all sorts of effective study skills
• Don’t require them to complete all the problems (Remember the olden time when you used to be super excited when your teacher assigned only the odd-numbered problems?)

Character Issues

Balking at homework can be a sign of a character flaw (i.e., your kid really is blatantly and defiantly refusing to do his work). The best course of action in this circumstance will differ from family to family. We won’t advise you on how to discipline your child, so don’t worry.

However, before you take action, think about what’s causing the defiance in the first place. Many people believe that homeschooling parents who pushed their children to put their education aside while dealing with character issues are insane. We mean that they believe that teaching children how to act out in order to avoid schoolwork is a desirable thing. Certainly not. You may need to take a break from what you’re doing to have a heart-to-heart conversation with your youngster. You’ll usually figure out what’s troubling him and be able to remedy the problem. And, sometimes, pausing to think about it will get you nowhere.

Emotional Distress

Emotional difficulties can appear at any time during the school day. If your child has gone through a lot of change in his life, he may require a little more patience. He could also need someone to talk to (you, a friend of the family, or another relative) in order to improve his coping skills.

Thankfully, if all goes well, you won’t have any problems with your child refusing to do schoolwork. However, you’ll almost certainly have to deal with learning difficulties, readiness challenges, emotional anguish, and children who are feeling overwhelmed. Taking the time to address issues, even if it means working through the course at a moderate speed, according to reliable sources and studies, usually resolves the issue without causing any detrimental consequences. What tips do you have for dealing with your home schooler’s aversion to schoolwork?

However, you can escape the feeling of being out of control by simply changing your study habits. If done correctly and efficiently, homework and study may be a gratifying and satisfying experience.